Landsverk L-10

Landsverk L-10
Stridsvagn m/31 (strv m/31)
Stridsvagn m/31 (Landsverk L-10) at Skaraborg Regiment (P4).
TypeMedium Caterpillar Tank[1]
Place of originSweden
Service history
In service1935–1940
Used bySweden
Production history
DesignerAB Landsverk
Designed1930–1931
ManufacturerAB Landsverk
Produced1933[2]
No. built3
Specifications
Mass11,000 kg (24,000 lb)
Length5.20 m (17 ft 1 in)
Width2.15 m (7 ft 1 in)
Height2.22 m (7 ft 3 in)
Crew4
Armor8–24 mm (0.31 in – 0.94 in)
Main
armament
1 × Bofors 37 mm AT-gun L/45
(37 mm kan fm/32)[3]
Secondary
armament
2 × Browning M1917
(6.5 mm ksp m/14-29)
EngineMaybach DSO 8
150 hp (110 kW)
Operational
range
150 kilometres (93 mi)
Maximum speed 40 km/h (25 mph)

Landsverk L-10 (Swedish Army designation: stridsvagn m/31, abbr. strv m/31, "tank model-1931") was a Swedish late interwar era medium tank constructed by AB Landsverk for the Swedish Army between 1930[4] and 1933.[2]

The tank had an advanced design for its time, being the first tank produced to feature an all-welded construction and using periscopes for visibility rather than view slits. It was armed with a turret mounted Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun L/45 (37 mm kanon fm/32)[3] and two Browning M1917 machine guns (6.5 mm kulspruta m/14-29), one coaxial mounted in the turret and one flexible mounted in the hull, and was equipped with 8–24 mm (0.31 in – 0.94 in) of armour.[4][5]

History

Development of the L-10 started in 1930 as part of a competition set up by the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration (KAF) for the next generation of Swedish tanks. Landsverk competed against designs from AB Bofors (Krupp) and Morgårdshammar AB, evaluation being conducted in the fall the same year. Landsverks designs came out on top and Landsverk was selected as contractor in January 1931. After further in-depth evaluation of Landsverks designs, KAF ordered three L-10 test vehicles from Landsverk in October 1931, along one Landsverk L-30 trial vehicle (essentially an L-10 with deployable wheels).[4]

The three L-10 vehicles were built in 1933[2] and delivered to the Swedish Army in 1935.[4] Armour was delivered by Bofors.[2] Despite being highly advanced for their time, they often broke down when not handled properly, and lessons learned from their trials were incorporated into the much improved Landsverk L-60 (strv m/38). When World War II broke out, they were dug in as static bunkers due to a lack of spare parts, as many key parts were produced abroad.[6]

  • Unfinished L-10 at Landsverk Landskrona, 1933–1935.
    Unfinished L-10 at Landsverk Landskrona, 1933–1935.
  • Unfinished L-10 at Landsverk Landskrona, 1933–1935.
    Unfinished L-10 at Landsverk Landskrona, 1933–1935.
  • The three Landsverk L-10 (strv m/31) delivered to the Swedish Army.
    The three Landsverk L-10 (strv m/31) delivered to the Swedish Army.
  • Stridsvagn m/31 during winter trials, late 1930s.
    Stridsvagn m/31 during winter trials, late 1930s.

Landsverk L-30 (strv fm/31)

Landsverk L-30 on tracks during trials at Landskrona in 1935
Main article: Landsverk L-30

The L-10 had a variant, known as the L-30, which featured deployable wheel propulsion in addition to its tracks, the idea being that wheeled and tracked propulsion could be quickly interchanged (in less than a minute, even while on the move) depending on the travel surface (road/terrain). A mild steel prototype with a wooden mockup turret was ordered in 1931 (designated stridsvagn fm/31: fm = försöksmodell, "trial model") along the three L-10 (strv m/31) and delivered to the Swedish Army for trials in 1935.[4][5]

Surviving vehicles

One L-10 (strv m/31) has been preserved. The vehicles was exhibited at the Swedish Armour Museum in Axvall between 1969 and 2007, then on being moved to the collection of the new Swedish Tank Museum Arsenalen, were it have remained.

Period Landsverk armoured vehicles

Landsverk L-30, an L-10 outfitted with wheel-cum-track suspension.
Landsverk L-321 armoured draisine, featuring two L-10 turrets.

Example list (incomplete)

References

  1. ^ AB Landsverk tank chart
  2. ^ a b c d Landsverk blueprint, number S-1087 – name: Pansarförteckning (Armour List), title: Av KAFT hos Landsverk beställda pansarfordon. (Armored vehicles ordered by Armored Royal Swedish Army Ordnance Administration from Landsverk.) – date: 1945-06-20
  3. ^ a b Christer Baadstöe, Tommy Nilsson, Thorleif Olsson, Kjell Svensson and Måns Thuresson (2022). Svensk pansarhistoria: Pionjärtiden, 1918-1936. Milipress. p. 110.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e Lindström, Rickard O. "Strv fm/31 och Strv m/31". ointres.se. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  5. ^ a b Tank Museum, Bovington. The Tank Book.
  6. ^ Tanks in World War 2: Stridsvagn m/31 (Landsverk L-10)

Further reading